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The South African Department of Home Affairs has announced that the last day for Basotho nationals to apply for SA-issued Lesotho Special Permits (LSP) is Friday, 30 September 2016. There will be no further extension. The initial closing date was 30 June 2016.

The Department urges those who have not applied to do so speedily, with only 16 days to go. They should visit VFS ‘walk-in’ centres where they will be assisted with their LSP applications.

In November, 2016, the department will gazette names of all persons who applied but did not finalise their applications, and provide for a one month grace period to submit all outstanding information by 31 December 2016.

People with passports expiring within the next two years and having the LSP visa in them, will use both their old and new passports. In these cases, there would be no need to apply and pay for transfer of LSP visas.

South Africa had earlier granted amnesty to all Basotho nationals until 31 December 2016 to handover fraudulent SA IDs at dedicated Home Affairs offices. Those who comply will be eligible to apply for LSP with the application closing date remaining 30 September 2016.

The Department will make these concessions applicable:

• People with Lesotho ID cards but without valid passports can apply for LSP by 30 September 2016. However, they must provide their passports by 31 December 2016.
• Those who have submitted a fully completed application form but have not paid for their visa can do so by 31 December 2016.

Issued by GCIS on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs